A totem pole carved by men in custody was dedicated in a special ceremony Thursday at the Vancouver Island Regional Correctional Centre, and no one enjoyed it more than Eddy Cliffe.
“This pole changed my life,” said Cliffe, a member of the Wei Wai Kum First Nation near Campbell River.
“To me, it’s a promise within myself and to the community because of the strength of the symbolism.”
The 41-foot Coast Salish pole took shape in 2021 and 2022, part of the time in a field behind the centre, under the guidance of master carver Tom LaFortune. He said it includes a frog to represent one’s inner voice and conscience, and a wolf to represent family and leadership.
Up to a dozen men a day helped turn it into a finished piece, many but not all of them Indigenous.
“I did not want to segregate this program and make it all First Nations,” said LaFortune, who had brothers Perry and Aubrey helping him.
“I wanted this to be everybody that wanted to learn something and wanted to carry on with this program.”
Cliffe was incarcerated when he started working on the pole last year, but is now out and continuing to carve with LaFortune.
Before that, he had only tried carving a little on his own, he said.
He said he has learned quickly with LaFortune.
“I still have a lot to learn, however he’s a great teacher and he opened a door to doing stuff like this.”
Cliffe said he no longer wants to work in construction like he did in the past. “I’m a carver now, and that’s something that is really powerful to say,” he said. “I never was artistic before.”
LaFortune said one aim of the project was to remind Indigenous men about their culture. “A lot of them had lost it — they didn’t have that leadership to push them to carry on.”
Up to 90 men were involved in carving the pole. “The biggest part is about the guys,” LaFortune said.
Guards pitched in at times, and Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth came by last summer. He was also at Thursday’s event.
“Everybody that was out there had to put a knife in their hand and do some work,” LaFortune said.
He acknowledged the important role that Max Henry Sr. and Max Henry Jr., the centre’s Indigenous cultural liaison, played in getting the project started.
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